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Jātaka Stories of Past Lives 1
Ekakanipāta The Book of the Ones
Apaṇṇakavagga Sure Bet
1. Apaṇṇakajātaka Sure Bet: a past life story
Namo tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammāsambuddhassa. Homage to him, the blessed one, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha!
“Apaṇṇakaṁ ṭhānameke, Some stand on a sure bet, Apaṇṇaka (“sure bet”) is a gambling term, where paṇṇa appears as a form of the number five. While a hand of four dice was “perfect” (kaṭa), the fifth “losing” (kali) die was all-powerful, since just one extra die meant you lose everything (Rig Veda 10.34.2, Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 5.4.4.6). Apaṇṇaka is therefore literally a “set without a fifth” and metaphorically “without fail”, a “sure bet”. See further note on MN 60:12.5.
Dutiyaṁ āhu takkikā; while sophists speak of a second way. In the prose story, the “sophists” (takkikā) are compared to a native spirit (yakkha) who tried to persuade a caravan to abandon its water in the desert.
Etadaññāya medhāvī, An intelligent person, knowing this,
Taṁ gaṇhe yadapaṇṇakan”ti. would take up the sure bet. This line draws on the gambling imagery: one would “take up” (gaṇhe) a “sure bet”, namely a “winning hand” (kaṭaggāha). In the ancient Vedic game of chance, a large quantity of vibhītaka (“bedda”) nuts were placed in a hollow, from which players would take a handful. If the number of nuts was divisible by four, it was said to be a “perfect” (kaṭa) “hand” (gāha).
Apaṇṇakajātakaṁ paṭhamaṁ.